I have no friend that knows or want to play this series and it's killing me how amazing it is for how unpopular it is in the west. I'm a JRPG enjoyer that finished some Final fantasy games (VI to X) and I played most of the tales of games as well. In my opinion they don't have an ounce of the world's building quality of the trails games.

The graphics seem a bit dated for the first trilogy of it (the sky series) but it isn't that bad a all for its time (released in 2004). You'll get used to it fast and immerse yourself with the story and great character interaction. The gameplay of the first game is good but you'll spam a lot of the same arts(spell) since the game isn't that balance but it's fine. I love how customisable the character are so there's a lot of freedom in how you build them.

But I must admit I hesitated a lot and even quit this game back when I played in 2014 since the early game is a bit slow but since 2 years I played all 11 trails game back to back for how good it was (It was worth it, believe me)

if you want voice acting there's a mod you can download that add voice acting from the evolution remake for the vita and that adds a lot for the presentation I can't recommend it enough.

I wish I could erase my experience of them and restart the 900 hours + of greatness and I'm not even kidding. This first game is like a big intro but it's a slow burn so it gets better and don't worry the ending of the first game will 100% make you play the second game (I guarantee it).

You can play with or without a guide but there's nothing wrong with using one since there's some hidden quest (you have to speak to almost all npc after every main quest to not miss one) so if you have FOMO do it just don't get spoiled.

It's a long ride but a wonderful one you'll not forget.